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Call for Articles for Global Politics Magazine

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Call for Articles for Global Politics Magazine

Postby Dave25 on Thu Jun 30, 2011 12:56 pm

I edit an online politics magazine http://www.global-politics.co.uk/ and am looking for well written and well argued articles relating to contemporary international affairs. We particularly encourage submissions of pieces of writing which seek to highlight and introduce new ideas and fresh thinking into the political debate and would welcome submissions from interested students.

Students or academics wishing to contribute should email either a submission (approx 800-900 words) or a brief outline of the proposed article to me at:

david@global-politics.co.uk
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Re: Call for Articles for Global Politics Magazine

Postby Daniel on Sat Jul 02, 2011 1:13 pm

Your magazine is badly-written and edited worse. Stylistically, it leaves alot to be desired. Remember Orwell's six golden rules:

    Never use a metaphor, simile, or other figure of speech which you are used to seeing in print.

    Never use a long word where a short one will do.

    If it is possible to cut a word out, always cut it out.

    Never use the passive where you can use the active.

    Never use a foreign phrase, a scientific word, or a jargon word if you can think of an everyday English equivalent.

    Break any of these rules sooner than say anything outright barbarous.
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Re: Call for Articles for Global Politics Magazine

Postby RedCelt69 on Sat Jul 02, 2011 2:30 pm

Those rules suck. They basically state that the writer should dumb down so as to appeal to the dumbest reader. Sometimes, longer words work better - and have more meaning, contextually, than shorter words. Sometimes, jargon is good. Sometimes, it is better to hope that your readers don't have the vocabulary skills of a teenager with a poor school-attendance record.
Tho' Nature, red in tooth and celt
With ravine, shriek'd against his creed

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Re: Call for Articles for Global Politics Magazine

Postby Anon. on Sat Jul 02, 2011 8:18 pm

RedCelt69 wrote:Sometimes, longer words work better - and have more meaning, contextually, than shorter words.


That's what the rule is saying - if the shorter word won't do, use the longer word. If the shorter word will do, don't use the longer word.

Isn't the gist simply "don't be pretentious"?
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Re: Call for Articles for Global Politics Magazine

Postby wild_quinine on Sun Jul 03, 2011 2:39 am

There are no rules to great writing. Great writers know enough about rules to know where breaking them is divine. If there ever was any universal rule, it would probably be 'practice'. That or 'finish'. But some of the greats seem to have happily ignored those two as well.

Anyway, there are some good discussion points in Orwell's rules. Whilst I wouldn't recommend literally reducing pieces to the bare minimum, learning how to prune your own writing is really vital. A major part of writing is learning how to drop something that doesn't quite work. And it's hard to do that. At first it genuinely feels like you're getting rid of everything except the barebones, and it feels like your work will be worse for that. And most people resist, and pull against that feeling, and leave the bits they were proud of in, and work text around them to make sure they fit in. And it's usually obvious when that has happened - almost like a bad comedian reaching to get a joke in.

And, actually, your work will usually be better, not worse, for a bit of intelligent pruning. But learning to be objective is incredibly difficult, and requires experience, and a willingness to accept both your flaws, and the loss of some or all of what might seem to be your best work.
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Re: Call for Articles for Global Politics Magazine

Postby Dave25 on Mon Jul 11, 2011 10:06 am

Daniel, I'm delighted that you have finally discovered the joys of George Orwell and if you've truly been able to imbibe the great man's literary teachings and incorporate some of his thinking into your own writing style then please feel free to submit your article again and I'll certainly give it a second look.

My email address once again is david@global-politics.co.uk
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